


Shattered swords and promises

by Athetos



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I have no idea if this qualifies as angst, Post-Season 4, Soulmate AU, Very tiny mention of catra/scorpia, With a tasty flashback to season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athetos/pseuds/Athetos
Summary: After rescuing Glimmer from Horde Prime, Adora dreads having to tell her soulmate that She-Ra's sword is broken.  Soulmate AU.
Relationships: Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Shattered swords and promises

**Author's Note:**

> For day 5 of Glimadora Week, I chose the prompt Soulmate AU.
> 
> For context, this is set in an universe where the name of your soulmate is written on your wrist from birth. I usually dislike soulmate AUs, but I did have fun writing this.

Adora should be happy.

Her soulmate, Glimmer, was finally home safe, after spending weeks locked in a dingy cell on Horde Prime’s ship. The rescue mission had been reckless and ill-advised, but despite all odds, Adora and Bow had managed to free the Queen of Bright Moon, as well as the perpetually grumpy Catra, who was apparently on their side now. 

There wasn’t much time for any of them to chat, beyond a bunch of tearful apologies and back-breaking hugs - it’s hard to catch up with your partner and friends in the middle of a harrowing escape plan. But now they were safely inside the castle, with no casualties and only minor injuries. Glimmer nearly passed out when she saw her dad for the first time in years, and had collapsed into his arms, crying. Right now, the father and daughter were catching up, leaving Adora alone in her bedroom with nothing but her thoughts.

_I failed her._

_The sword is broken. She-Ra doesn’t exist anymore._

Glimmer didn’t know that yet, though. But she would, very soon. And Adora wouldn’t be able to stomach the disappointed look on her girlfriend’s face when she found out the truth. 

Adora flopped onto her back on the bed, and studied her left arm. The name “Glimmer” was written in capital letters on the inside of her wrist. The name had been there for as long as she could remember, and while nearly everyone in Etheria knew the significance of bearing your Soulmate’s name, in the Horde, none of their soldiers were taught what that meant. A lot of the soldiers didn’t have names on their arms at all, and most of them ended up dying young, with no one to give their love to, or to accept love from. Catra and Scorpia had each other’s names on their arms, and while the two soldiers hit it off really well, they didn’t understand that they were destined to be soulmates. In Adora’s case, she didn’t even realize Glimmer was supposed to be a name, at all.

When she introduced herself to Glimmer and Bow in the Whispering Woods (after fighting over She-Ra’s sword), Glimmer’s face turned bright red when Adora announced her name, and Bow gasped and clapped his hands to his cheeks. The then-princess darted forward, and snatched Adora’s arm, holding it out to inspect her wrist. 

“Oh… Adora…” She met the blonde’s confused gaze, her eyes glittering with an emotion that Adora didn’t know the name of. “I’m Glimmer. I’m… We’re soulmates.” She held her own arm out, the name “Adora” adorning it.

Bow was audibly “aww”-ing at this point, hardly able to contain his excitement.

Adora just stared at the two of them blankly. “What’s a soulmate?”

The pair froze. After a long moment, Glimmer said, “You… don’t know what a soulmate is?”

Adora shook her head. “No, not at all. What is it? Is it a good thing?” 

Glimmer’s face turned even redder. “It means… um… it means we’re fated to be together. Every person has a soul, and each soul has its mate, its perfect match. Almost every person is born with the name of their soulmate on their wrist. You’re supposed to find that person, and then never, ever let them go. Adora… we were destined to meet each other.” 

It was Adora’s turn to blush. _Glimmer is super cute… Can I really be that lucky?_

It turned out that, yes, Adora really was that lucky. 

For the past year, her relationship with Glimmer blossomed from friendship to romance to something somehow even deeper than either of those two things combined. Something that was impossible to name, or describe. 

And now she had to let her soulmate down, in the worst way possible.

Adora was interrupted from her memories by a knock at the door. “Come in”, she called, knowing that Glimmer was the only person who could be at the door.

The Queen entered their shared bedroom, wearing nightclothes, her hair freshly washed. One of the first things Glimmer did once she arrived home was to take a long bath, and now her still-damp hair was curling at the ends, something Adora always found extremely cute. 

She sat up on the bed, and moved over to allow her girlfriend to sit beside her. Immediately, Glimmer wrapped an arm around the taller woman’s waist, and rested her head against her shoulder. 

“I missed you so much, Adora.” She nuzzled her face into the sleeve of Adora’s jacket. “I was so worried. I’m so, so sorry. I should have listened to you. This is all my fault.” 

Adora shook her head forcefully. “No, Glimmer, it’s not. We all made mistakes. You didn’t open the portal in the first place. And I have a lot to apologize for, too.”

Glimmer squeezed her girlfriend as tight as she possibly could, tears spilling down her cheeks. “No, no, it’s okay, Adora, honest, I should have been a better girlfriend, I-” She sniffled loudly. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. And I’m not even sure I deserve your forgiveness.” The queen was openly sobbing at this point.

Adora rubbed her soulmate’s back, shifting position so that the two were laying down holding each other. She was crying too, now. “It’s okay, love. I promise. It’s okay. It’s just…” She trailed off.

Glimmer peered up at her. “It’s just…?” she prompted.

“It’s just…” Adora couldn’t meet her partner’s eyes. “She-Ra’s gone.” 

Glimmer paused, confusion wrinkling her brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the sword’s broken. She’s gone. Forever.” The taller girl started weeping. _There. I said it._ She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for Glimmer to berate her.

But instead of scolding her, Glimmer just held her girlfriend even tighter, burying her face into Adora’s hair. “It’s okay, Adora. It’s going to be okay. We got this.”

Adora opened her eyes, shocked. “But… you’re not mad?”

Glimmer shook her head. “No, honey, I’m not mad. We’ll figure this out, like we always do. I know it.”

Adora cried harder. “But we need She-Ra… You need She-Ra. Without her, what am I?”

“Adora, sweetheart… I don’t need She-Ra. I need _you.”_ Glimmer lifted her arm, showing off Adora’s name written on her wrist. “I don’t have She-Ra written on my arm now, do I?” She offered her girlfriend a watery smile. “We’ll get through this. No matter what. The Horde won’t know what hit them. After all, you’re one of the best tacticians and swordfighters we’ve ever had. I know that, with you by my side, and Bow, and the princesses, and my father - we can lead everyone to victory.” She leaned forward and kissed Adora’s nose.

Now Adora was crying from relief and love, not from anxiety and sadness, and captured Glimmer’s lips with her own, melting into the kiss. She broke away after a long moment, her tears starting to dry up. “I love you, Glimmer. I promise, I won’t let you down.”

“You could never, ever let me down.” Glimmer smiled. “I love you too, Adora.”


End file.
